Daily Briefing for 04.24.24

Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities

Hackers hijack antivirus updates to drop GuptiMiner malware (BleepingComputer) North Korean hackers have been exploiting the updating mechanism of the eScan antivirus to plant backdoors on big corporate networks and deliver cryptocurrency miners through GuptiMiner malware.

North Korean Hackers Target Dozens of Defense Companies (Infosecurity Magazine) Pyongyang hackers ran a year-long cyber-espionage campaign against South Korean defense companies

Sweden's liquor shelves to run empty this week due to ransomware attack (The Record) The directly affected company, Skanlog, is a critical distributor for Systembolaget, the Swedish government-owned retail chain with a monopoly on the sale of many alcoholic beverages.

Russian hackers claim cyberattack on Indiana water plant (The Record) The threat actor known as the Cyber Army of Russia posted a video as purported evidence of breaching the systems of the Tipton Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Trends

Global attacker median dwell time continues to fall (Help Net Security) The global attacker median dwell time continued trending downwards in 2023, and is now 10 days (from 16 days in the previous year).

Legislation, Policy, and Regulation

FTC commercial surveillance rules could arrive within months, sources say (The Record) According to two sources familiar with the FTC’s plans, the new rules will emphasize concepts such as data minimization and algorithmic accountability, with the goal of ensuring that companies properly handle the data they harvest from the apps, websites and devices that consumers use.

Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature (AP News) The Senate has passed legislation that would force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that’s expected to face legal challenges and disrupt the lives of content creators who rely on the short-form video

Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement

US glacial response to Nigeria’s detention of former IRS crypto investigator rankles federal agents (The Record) Nigeria detained former IRS investigator Tigran Gambaryan in February for crimes it says his company, Binance, committed. Current and former agents have cried foul and are asking why the U.S. government isn’t doing more for one of its own.

For a complete running list of events, please visit the Event Tracker.

Events

Spring 2024 CISSP Study Group presented by ISSA Central MD (Columbia, or virtual, Maryland, USA, Feb 20 - May 1, 2024) Our Study Group fosters a learning environment to better absorb and understand the material. This is much better than the alternative of cram it in and regurgitate it on a test immediately following. Our approach simply makes the information more useful and easier to interpret! You can attend each session in-person in Columbia, MD, or attend virtually on line.

SANS Pen Test Austin 2024 (Austin (and virtual), Texas, USA, Apr 22 - 27, 2024) At SANS Pen Test Austin 2024, choose from 41 interactive courses with hands-on labs. Practice your skills and compete against your peers during NetWars Tournaments, and network with your instructor and industry colleagues in real-time. Each course includes electronic and printed books, and several courses align with GIAC certifications!

Insider Threat Program Development, Management & Optimization Live Web Based Training Course (Virtual, Apr 23 - 24, 2024) This highly sought after and very comprehensive training course, will ensure that the Insider Threat Program (ITP) Manager and other key stakeholders that support the ITP (Insider Threat Analyst, FSO, CSO, CISO, Human Resources, CIO - IT, Network Security, Counterintelligence Investigators, Behavioral Science Professionals, Legal Etc.), have the Core / Advanced Knowledge, Blueprint, Resources needed for developing, managing or optimizing an ITP. Students will be provided with an ITP Management Toolkit that provides an abundance of educational resources, templates and checklists for ITP development, management and optimization. All materials will be provided to the student in electronic format (Via Download) before the training. Our student satisfaction levels are in the exceptional range. Over 900+ individuals have attended this training course and received ITP Manager Certificates.

SANS Baltimore Spring 2024 (Baltimore (and virtual), Maryland, USA, Apr 28 - May 3, 2024) At SANS Baltimore Spring 2024, choose from 41 interactive courses with hands-on labs. Practice your skills and compete against your peers during NetWars Tournaments, and network with your instructor and industry colleagues in real-time. Each course includes electronic and printed books, and several courses align with GIAC certifications!

World’s Top 50 Innovators 2024 (London, England, UK, May 8 - 10, 2024) We are thrilled to invite you to join us at one of the most prestigious events in the tech calendar, the World’s Top 50 Innovators 2024! Get ready to embark on an incredible journey of inspiration, creativity, and breakthrough technologies that will shape the future. Innovation is the driving force behind progress, and once again it’s time to celebrate the companies that are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Come and join us to learn what’s on the horizon, understand the bigger picture, and celebrate world-firsts and sensational achievements in the high-tech sectors. The format will be a series of Codex Talks, each of which is a concise presentation, lasting 15 minutes (or less), in which the speaker addresses a challenging question faced by their technology or industry today, and ends with a bold prediction for the future.